use real butter

Thursday and Friday slipped away from me. Saturday is on the slippy slide too.

You know that hamster running furiously in the little hamster wheel? I’m that hamster. At least I’m keeping off the streets. I’ve got a few minutes to share some of photos from the last few days: learning to cook (freaking amazing!!!) Indian food from my dear Manisha and an early morning engagement shoot for one of my favorite buds in Boulder. More to come. It’s good that way, right? Right!?

the fabulous spices

papadums

ivy gourd (my favorite!)

chicken makhani (butter chicken)

batata vada

the feast (which manisha said was “simplified” – oh my!)

I got up at 4 in the morning Friday – but this time it was for friends rather than my usual nature shoot. Luckily, I know Jason is as insane as I am and willing to get up that early to work. He met me in the parking lot at 5:30 and helped me photograph my friend, Jeremy, and his lovely fiancée as the sun rose on the Flatirons at Chautauqua. Beautiful. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll be back with a recipe!

yay, there were still wildflowers!

amazing golden light

at the ranger cottage

sweet

varoom!!

I’m hella busy. Hella. Too busy to cook, shower, whatever. But I’m a lucky lucky girl. I have friends who are not only willing to feed me, but are stellar cooks to boot. Last Friday my dear Manisha invited some ladies over to feast on her homestyle Indian cooking.

she made idlis

Idlis are little pillows of steamed fermented batter made from rice, lentils, and water. Manisha piled them into a large serving dish – delicate and soft. I wanted to dive right into the bowl and take a nap. Here’s what the batter looks like.

see the bubbles?

Manisha had sambar (vegetable and lentil stew) simmering on the burner and Nichole brought a batch of her homemade aloo masala. The aromas in that kitchen were heady.

nichole ladles the sambar

heavenly aloo masala

I can’t recall what the chutneys were other than amazing. I have a problem with Manisha’s cooking… I get so excited and overwhelmed with all of the newness and flavors that it’s all I can do to photograph the food and eat it. I’ll shoot one dish and see her stirring fried spices into a chutney out of the corner of my eye – I can’t keep up. She promises me a lesson in proper Indian cooking when my schedule eases. I cannae wait.

chutney, chutney, idlis

What I learned that day was something utterly wonderful: that the batter for idlis is the same batter base for making dosas. DOSAS?! I am crazy for dosas. I had two dosas and if I hadn’t been sampling every other fantastic dish (along with two fabulous virgin mojitos courtesy of my dear Kitt) I probably would have stuffed myself with a couple more dosas before blissfully passing out on a plate of idlis – soft pillows, you know.

the dosas are crack

My brain was mush. I was exhausted. But I was well fed and feeling drunk on the love and laughter of my dear friends if only for a couple of hours. Priceless. (Thank you, Manisha! xo)

The workshop kicks off on Monday.

This evening we had long-time out-of-town food blogging friends up to our place for dinner (and to meet Kaweah).

We’re rarin’ to go!

todd pours the champagne

who’s gonna take this glass?

popping the second bottle

a toast!

and dinner